FAIR PLAY 



and 



Other Poems 




II. E. BARNETT 



FAIR PLAY 



an 



d 



Other Poems 




II. E. BARN HIT 






« 



. , 



<< 



Copyright 1918 

By 

H. E. BARNETT 



NOV 16 1918 

©CI. A 5 74 (Hi 



P R E !• A C E 

No one is obliged to be an author. If, however, one 

conceives that he has written something which he thinks 
will edify the public, and that they will appreciate what 

he has so written, and he publishes it. he must abide tin; 

judgment they place upon it for having thrust himself 
upon them. If the judgment he in his favor for any merit 
displayed in his writings, he will deserve well of them 

for his effort to enlighten their opinion. On the other 
hand, if the judgment of the public be againist him for 
his pretentiousness, then he will profit by their criticism 
of his demerits ami spur him on to greater effort and 

nobler endeavor in the future. 

It is with this motive in mind that these effusions are 
given to the public; not wholly however with the desire 
to gain for himself public opinion, hut because of the 
wish of some acquaintances who have already read the 
poems published in the press, and who desire to have them 
in a more enduring form, that they are put forth in the 
present dress upon the public. 

With this understanding these fledglings, the fruit 
of his leisure moments, art' given as a testimony to Ids 
regards for and a wish to see the advancement and bet- 
terment of his race. 

— The Author. 

(AH ri(jh f .< reserved.) 



INDEX. 

Page 

Fair Play 5 

Psalm Negrology - 11 

The Soldier's Burial 12 

Monody of Bishop Turner 14 

What Our Solons Do 15 

Lincoln — An Address 16 

Soldiers Embarking 18 

The American Flag 19 

World Peace 20 

Monody of a Suicide 21 

The Likeness 22 

The Panama Canal Hymn 23 

To Our Dog, Trilby 24 

Louis Napoleon's Prayer 25 

Monody of a Postage Stamp 27 

Psalm 1 28 

Thou Art the Way 29 

They Think of Me 30 



/ AIR /'/ i ) en d OTHER POEMS 
FAIR PLAY. 

My countrymen: What have we d< 

To cause your ire, and stir your ra| 
To make your deeds and customs run 
Aback the aj 

Should vilest hate your bosom feel, 

And barb'rous actions Belves control? 

And tears, as 'twere with hooks Of steel, 
Our wounded soul? 

Not foes are we. Our native land 

We love her laws in weal or woe; 
Nor eaper to possess in hand, 

A bomb to throw. 

Our hands are black God made them so 

To use, to build our country wide; 

Not "Black Hands" we, who ever go 

To tear aside. 

Do pride and hate, and lust of pow'r, 

Degrade and make our "friends" for ire t 
God reigns, and keeps each little flow'r 
And tends it yet? 

Will you deny to us the smile 

That lifts the heart from troubles free. 
And crush the mind and then revile 
Deformity? 

How can one rise whose forms of thought, 
But in one groove suppressed are kept ; 

And mental growth and vigor BOUght 

To kill — unwept? 

Are you our friends of tender heart. 

Who can afflict, in wantonm 
The weak; and scorn in every part 
Their tenderness? 

Not helots we. The race is fr< • 

By blood we shed on Gorton's Height, 
At Red Bank too, as free men we 

Espoused the ri^rht. 



FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

Not in this country can there be 
A caste to servile labor bound, 

For all alike are men, and free 

In it are found. 

Ill treatment ne'er can win our hearts, 

Nor bow the souls of those who think; 
It weakens faith, it true friends part, 
And morals sink. 

Think of Atlanta's foul disgrace; 

The wail was loud that filled the air, 
And dark hued men of Adam's race 
Fell in dispair. 

White men's arms, strong in vengeance, smote 

Defenceless black men unaware; 
E'en at their hearthstone, they did note : ; 
Base murder there! 

They asked for mercy and for aid; 

Asked they for justice and for right; 
Asked in God's name, and sorely prayed 

'Gainst wrong and might. 

But in your rage, deaf was your ear 

To pity's sad, heart-searching cry; 
Your wanton hand, without a fear, 
Struck savagely. 

You slayed. Big, black men strove to fly 
From wounds inflicted. Others cried 
For help; nor knew the reason why 

They suffered, died. 

The streets in crimson glowed — dyed 

With blood of Negro men and theirs, 
And told a tale of savagery 

That'll live for years. 

Such is the door of hope ajar, 

The gospel new of woe and weal, 
When men at peace, and not for war 
Get a square deal. 



FAIR PLA ) 01 d OTHER POEMS 

We may be poor, and much In want, 

And bring contempt on learning -pride 

But heavenly powers wisdom grant 
In what is tried. 

w i cannot do unless we try, 

Though failure m sonic effortfl loom; 

And you who would us help deny, 

Begrudge ua room. 

Show us the man whose knowledge came 

With little effort Oil his part; 
Who was not helped to greatness, fame; 

In letters, art. 

We must be helped like other men; 
Like other men, a record make, 
As sturdy men, he manly when 

A step we take. 

Experience comes to those who strive 

And study in the schools and learn; 
We cannot know, if you deprive 

Such means to earn. 

Of yore when John C. Calhoun led. 

And gave the States his learning beat, 
He was as wrong in much he said 

As e'er was guessed. 



He too forgot in his career, 

Three fifths a man in height we stood, 
And though we were not then his peer, 
The law stood pood. 



"When Negroes/' said he, "Greek can read. 

"And lisp the sonps of Homer's pen, 
"I shall he willing to concede 

That they arc men." 

We now are "men," for Greek we read — 
Th' enclitic tec as NegTO men; 
And could he know how we succeed, 

He'd yield again. 



FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

Some there are who see no good we do 
In all the things that are e'en right; 
And damning all we do pursue 

They take delight. 

They make our faults, however small, 

To vast proportion vice contain; 
And minimize the best in all 

We do attain. 

Could you but feel, as feel we do, 

The piercing wounds your hate does give, 
You then would know as men and true 
What life we live. 

Let Anglo-Saxon's "Juster" laws 

Than passion rule to take men's life; 
Nor blame, then violate, and cause 

Reproach and strife. 

"What to the wind you sow in rage, 

The whirlwind you will surely reap; 
And who in hate his life engage, 

Will deeply weep. 



Our wiser brothers' crimes we try, 

And feel content in what we do; 
And think if wise men laws belie, 

No laws are true. 

Let saner actions rule the will 

Of those who govern weaker men; 
And if aggrieved, sane reason still 

Should govern then. 

Our country won from Britian's braves 

Its freedom o'er injustice laid; 
And did protest 'we' were not slaves 
In all 'we' said. 



What laws of logic would deny 

The equal justice now we claim? 
Do selfish men their laws defy 

Nor blush for shame? 



FAIR PI A I 01 d OTHER POEMS 

You now by law contrive to Bhield, 
You rseh i from what j ou call di 
And, yet, Beduce and force to yield, 
The weaker race. 

Vou have no thought for "little thii 

That makep tin- sum of all our joy; 
And jusl where hope shews life and sprii 
You hope desl r 

No more Can prate of purity. 

The Anglo-Saxon noble ra< 

From them there'- no Becurity 

In any place. 

You "Anglo Saxonize" the breed 
Ami cast< • of ev'ry alien ra< • ; 
For in the offspring of your lust 

Your blood we trace. 

Sirs, treat us like men —men. though black; 

Assure no more than who are men; 
Urge no demands because we lack 

Tl e "color" -.hen. 

\m more v than you can give; 

No more than you yourselves do have. 
Secure us justice that we live 

As men — not slave. 

A- men we rally to the Call 

Our country makes in h< ' 
Againsl the Buns' and Teutons' hall 
Without suspense. 

Not slackers we. Our ! 

T our 
No tempting ir<dd of royalty 
1>- v. i pur 

hera 1 freedom ha 1 • at ; 

For others' rij 
Our blood true Liberty has bought 

At fearful c- 



10 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

And still we fight to make it safe 

For democracy far and wide, 
Without the promise for our waif 

'Gainst what betide. 

Disgusting and insulting rules, 

That are enforced against our race, 
Prevail in army camps and schools 
To your disgrace. 

Is this a time to foster hate 

And prejudice 'gainst soldier-groups, 
When now depends the nation's fate 
On all her troops? 

As on the field of battle wide, 

Prostrate and grim our bodies lay, 
We question if the victor's side 

Will change our day. 

The more we do to meet demand 

For higher culture of the race, 
The less you recognize the stand 

We reach for place. 

Are we to view the distant scene, 

And find it mirage on approach? 
Thus far our thirst has always been 

Slaked with reproach. 

Say now, while us you need, say true, 

Your purpose treatment of our race; 
Don't camouflage when you construe 

Your acts and grace. 

Be justice in your act and deed; 

Be honor's self in what you say; 
Then growing brightness will succeed 
Our dismal day. 



FAIR PLA ) 01 d OTHER POEMS 1 1 

PSALM NEGR0L0GY. 



Tell as not in st'liish English, 

This is not the N 
That in Afric's torrid climate 

He his "native" land should roam. 

White men brought as, and have kept as, 
In this land three hundred yeai 

Here they tell us how the people 
Live as free-men with no fears. 

Not the ran', nor yet the color, 
Makes the citizen of today; 

But the man who loves his country, 
And its mandates »ey. 

We're citizens, and advancing 

'Long the lines where knowledge runs; 
And are cycling as the planet 

Moves around ten thousand suns. 

i our stand at Santiago, 
How we fought our country's righl : 
Laurels crowned our ev*ry action 
In the hottest of the fight. 

Trust no selfish, maudlin critic; 

( we comfort from on high; 
; we 'mong the faithful Christians, 
He. ' . whom we can rely. 

Our country sires' deeds remind us. 

We can acl .. - I hey ha-. • 
And when dyii 

Nobl< ; eal - f< i -on. 

Such an imprint, that anothi 
Passing through this fiery fate — 

An anxious, and unaided N Pi . 
Seeing, will strive early. Ia1 

n be w irning 

Hov. 
Never tiring, never yielding, 
But to always do the right. 



12 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

THE SOLDIER'S BURIAL. 

'Twas dark: The storm-cloud's dread advance, 

Her gloomy curtain swung, 

And all around the wide expanse 

A dismal aspect hung; 

When solemnly the distant air, 

The fun'ral hymn did sound, 

And the martial steps of comrades fair 

Were echoed all around. 



A veteran had died ; he died 

His nation's weal to save; 

And now its grateful thanks were sighed 

In music to his grave. 

And piercing grief his mother's heart 

Did true affection draw; 

She bowed, submitting to the part 

He paid to nature's law. 

A child remained to watch her day, 

To look to for relief; 

She now upon his bosom lay, 

Expressing bitter grief. 

They both behind the fun'ral bier 

Did bow their aching heads ; 

And sadly moved to onward where 

Mankind is laid when dead. 

As onward to the grave they rode, 

Their sad and tearful way, 

And hoping in their hearts to God, 

To shelter find that day; 

Still darker did the way appear, 

As fear their minds engaged ; 

For quick and faster, and far and near 

The storm-clouds fiercely raged. 



FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS LS 

SirocCO like the winds did blow; 

In torrents fell the rain ; 

The fores! pint's both tall and low 

Bowed down and rose again. 

The lightning flashed, and now its rays 

The place did Hush with light ; 

And thunder pealed, and then the day 

Again appeared like night. 

Once more the forked lightning flashed; 
The angry winds did blow; 

Now hail and rain together dashed 

Against the land below ; 

The raging storm within its reach 
Made waste and bare the land; 
The sea did wreck near to the beach, 
The sails that could not stand. 



For shelter did the beast of prey, 
With angry cry and howl. 
Descend the hills and mountains grey, 
Like some swift winged fowl; 
Upon their backs the hail did beat ; 
The oaks beside them fell; 
The falling pine and sultry heat 
Increased their horrid yell. 



When silently the riven clouds. 

From each began to stray, 

The sky put off its duller shrouds. 

And wore a lighter gray 

And still the dark and misty sight. 

Yet bright and brighter grew; 

Till all at once a clearer light 

Disclosed itself to view. 



14 ' FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

And then the last, sad, solemn rite, 

Of Christian burial came; 

Within the vault from human sight, 

They laid the hero's frame. 

He'd served his country, and his God 

In paths of faith he moved; 

He'd fought for right and on the sod 

He died for what he loved. 

MONODY OF BISHOP H. M. TURNER. 

During his lifetime Bishop Turner expressed his 
wish not to die in any country where the rights of the 

Negro were not respected. The Bishop died in Canada, and 

upon his theme the poem was written. 

I live within the great domain 

Of Western lore and civic pride, 

Where men have fought in freedom's cause, 

And for that cause have bled and died; 

And here in useful work I give 

My service for the common weal, 

And try, by word and deed, to smooth 

The rugged path, and wounds to heal. 

Yet, I have seen those men so brave, 

Who'd succored foe, with friendship true, 

Reviled and scorned, despised and lynched, 

Oppressed and wronged in all they do, 

By those possessed of power and might, 

Whose will is law, and law a ruse, 

Because their victim's skin is black, 
And fiendish deeds please and amuse. 

I have no wish to compromise 

The spirit divine allotted me, 

Nor yield the sum of manhood rights 

And lose it's valued dignity. 

The coursing river in my soul 

Will flow defending what is just, 

But will abhor and execrate 

Who live on hate and sordid lust. 



FAIR PLA Y and OTHER POEMS L6 

When in the throes of death I lie, 

And those about me hold my hand. 

With heads bowed low. 'mid whispers soft, 

Which none but God ean understand; 

When heaving breast and shortoned breath. 

Show BigTlS that life is near it's end. 

Let all that's mortal of myself 

Sleep peaceful near some stranger friend 

Where lights of men of ev'ry race, 

Ev'ry color and ev'ry creed, 
Can worship God beneath a flag 
That recognizes ev'ry dwd 

Of valor shown and vict'ry won; 
Than die beneath a flag unfurled. 
Whose doctrine, based on color, brings 

Reproach on it throughout the world. 

WHAT OUR SOLONS DO. 

The preachment of our Solons sounds with pride 

The country's wealth and great prosperity, 

Beyond the wealth of avarice, and men 

With dinner pails now tilled to o'erflowing; 

And yet, the times are pregnant with discord 

From those who cry aloud againsl the eosl 
The simplest thing their trifling wages buy. 

Appeals for aid brings but deferred hop 

And investigations that seek to know 

The reasons for the prices paid for \'(uu\. 
While still the man in need with little means 
Live on the next month's wage before 'tis made. 

Men higher up who have but little thought 

Of those who travail with heart bruised and Bore, 

Live conscience — dead. Provide they living 

means 
Themselves to pass in comfort and in eB 



16 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

O'er num'rous ills, the poor and needy feel. 

No earnest plea their stubborn souls can touch, 
Nor bend their wills inflexible and strong. 

They hear no cry the poor, sad, bleeding hearts 

Uplifted make for aid in times of stress. 

Their narrow lives bound up in self and gain, 
Close up the paths and block the ways that lead 

To help from ills that cruel hands inflict. 

Father! Right the wrongs the people feel 

And send them aid, and comfort their sad lot. 

Touch the hearts of men choked with sordm ess, 
Ungodly pride and filled with selfishness, 

And give us that we need: Our daily bread. 
LINCOLN, AN ADDRESS. 

From Nature forth there shone a light 
Whose radiance blazed the western sky; 

He lit the path of justice, right, 
To freedom and the bondman's cry. 

The Nation's past had stirred his mind 

For human love and sacred fire, 
And as a son, both true and kind, 

He studied late with large desire. 

But deeper things than kindred ties, 

Were manhood rights that in him wrought; 

His country's sin and vanities 

Engaged his soul and earnest thought. 

The God of Hosts, whose servant he, 
The slaver's lash God made him hear, 

As God's elect — and destiny — 

He stood 'gainst wrong without a fear. 

He battled in the cause of right, 

And fought with wisdom, strength and love; 
And took to arm him for the fight, 

The panoply of God above. 



FAIR ri.A) OTHER POEMS 

Not sordid gain or lust of power, 
Could tempi him to forsake the right; 

Not base assaults ill darkest hour. 
Could chill his ardour in the fight. 

The rights of men despised with scorn, 

He held as sacred as his own; 
And gloried that he had been born 

For service to the "weaker" known. 

From hatred and masM4nancy, 

His heart of hearts was ever free; 

[f wrong he did through jealousy, 
It was to live in unity. 

Unfathomed thoughts did in him live 

That failed his tongue in words to tell; 
And few the thoughts did language give 

The work he'd planned and done so well. 

Vet. spoke he oft, as well he could, 
For justice as it tilled his soul ; 

And those who heard him knew lie would 
Allow no hindrance to control. 

Enlisted in the noble cause 

Of human rights, he did proclaim 
That in this country basic laws 

Should be for one and all the same. 

But. while he labored with his might, 

A felon rose against the law. 
And hoped to end the noble fight 

For human rights, and stop the war. 

He struck a blow with jealous hate 

That filled the world with pain and grief; 

And laid to rest among the greal 
A man whose life was sad and brief. 



18 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

To such a man whose noble deeds, 
No granite will endurance stand, 

We honor pay; and may the seeds 
He sowed, spring giants in our land. 

And may these sons like forest oaks 

Sink deep their roots in Virgin soil, 

And hold the hearts of Christian folks 
Who in the cause of freedom toil. 

In course of years "Abe" Lincoln stood 
The grand Colussus of the free; 

His mighty pen wrought lasting good 
For hope and human liberty. 

The fetters that chained down the soul 

And crushed the heart with anguish torn- 
No longer now the limbs control — 
He loosed. For us new days are born. 

Let wisdom guide if knowledge fail 

To lead the mind from slavery free ; 
And may it scorn who would assail 

Its larger worth and dignity. 

And mind and body both now free, 

With God to arm and strength to fight, 

May he contend eternally 

For all that's just and true and right. 

THE SOLDIERS ON EMBARKING. 

Wives and mothers, all loving ties, 

Whose tender cords vibrate at touch 
Of joy or pain: Our country calls, 

And your answer, to her, means much. 

We must arouse; the fiend's torch 
Wastes our substance on land and sea; 
We must preserve, from Kultur's hate, 
Our cherished hopes, and home and thee. 



FAIR /'/ .1 1 OTHER POEMS L9 

The despot's home shall feel the sting 

His wrath inflicts on other lands; 

And thither we, to right the wrong, 
Must go, and stay his savage hands. 

And, o. Father, guard, protect us. 
As we ride the treacherous deep, 
Where, in hiding, to destroy us, 

I'-Hoats prowl and eye, while we sleep. 

Our fathers' God, in our perils, 

As the Pilot, steer Thou our course; 

Stand at the holm and direct US 
To a landing, with Thee, our Force. 

Thou Success, in fiercest strife. 
As we our Nation's cause defend; 
Make it. in our death-grip struggle, 
"Safe for Democracy" to the end. 

And when the tierce, mad passion's o'er. 
And the conflict of the world shall cease, 
Bring us back, in Bark and U-Boats, 

To our home, with love and with Peace. 

THE AMERICAN FLAG. 

Amazed, the Kaiser views our flag 

Now in the field unfurled. 
And conjures by the Hague's decre< 

Its doctrine to the world. 

He sees great nations seek to gain 

A refuge in its folds; 
And knows that Cuba, free today, 

By it its freedom holds. 

No foreign despot dares insult 
The flag that Jasper raised — 

The flag of youth and beauty, which 
In song and deed is praised. 



20 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

The blood of every loyal son 

Would flow at very slight; 
And crimson-stained, the symbol cheer 

The weakest with delight. 

In all the wars from Molley's day, 
When Moultrie's wall was scaled, 

The flag then lifted from the dust, 
Has always since prevailed. 

This symbol of our country's pride 

Has the exalted seat, 
It floats alone among the flags 

And — never has been beat. 



WORLD PEACE. 

Most Mighty God, our Ancient Lord — 

King of Isr'el's Royal Line — 

We bow before Thy gracious word, 

And own dominion e'er is Thine; 

Almighty God, teach us to fear, 

Lest we forget Thy word to hear. 

Let bick'rings cease, remove each scar — 
Let Priest and Pope their strength increase- 
To end the strife of horrid war, 
That all mankind may live in peace ; 
Almighty God make kings forbear, 
Lest they forget Thy word to hear. 

Let universal peace abound — 
On land and sea let warlike deeds, 
Thy ruling power with love confound 
The last of Ancient barb'rous creeds; 
Almighty God, do Thou make clear, 
Lest we forget the word to hear. 



FAIR PLA ) and OTHER POEMS 21 

[f pride or power inflame the heart — 

If tilled with greed or lust of gain — 

Nfol love, but hate, their thoughts impart, 
Their selfish passions Lord restrain; 

Almighty God, vouchsafe to give, 

I. est they forget, new thoughts and live. 

Let swords and eannons melt away — 

Make their hearts A a deeper love — /^ 

And tongues proclaim a happier day 
For men on earth as souls above; 
Almighty God, the nations sigh 
For strength and wisdom from on high. 

Give us Thy love and peace — proclaim — 

As Bethlehem's angels did of old — 
"Peace and Goodwill" — so men exclaim — 

To modern kings the same as told; 
Lord God of Hosts, our Mighty King, 

Make World-wide Peace our hymn to sing. 

MONODY OF A SUICIDE. 

I dare not look into the dark. 
And tread the dismal path alone; 
My blood grows chill and courage fails. 
At times, the effort of my will. 
But the eternal shades of night 
Will hide the glamour of this life, 
And feast the soul on kindness pure 
That this cold world denies to mo. 
And yet, the silent grave I dread. 
And fear the awful lea]) to take. 
Perchance in the unknown to wake 
To greater pain and lasting woe. 

Man's heartlessness to brother man. 
Like canker gnaws the inner BOul 
That broods on ills. The bitter pangs, 

The tender heart no love can cure. 



22 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

The way the great majority, 
That buried lie in silent graves, 
I take from pomp and passions all, 
For freer life and larger sense. 

Oh God! forgive, and let my heart, 

With joy ineffable in death 

Kindly beat in its ebbing throes, 

For those in life I dearly love. 

On wings etereal, the flight, 

The eternal shade, dark and drear, 

Where silence is supreme for aye, 

I take, and bid good-bye — good night! 

THE LIKENESS. 

Along the plains of Judea, a star, 
In brightness shone; 

It guided wisdom, from afar, 
To Christ alone. 

Christ, the weak and poor preferring, 
The Balm had come 

To mitigate the suffering, 

Of sin-sick home. 

To lift the weight that kept them down, 
And give them life, 

Christ did divest him of a crown, 
For mortal strife. 

The weary, heavy-laden, bowed, 
With guilt and sin, 

The manager's Gift to them, endowed 
Brought joy within. 

The world in madness him did treat 
With jeers and scorn; 

And in his side and hands and feet 
Left scar and thorn. 



FAIR PLA ) eti d OTHER POEMS 

In western lands, in later days, 
A star arose ; 

Its lustrous beams and gilded rays, 

Did crime expose. 
It came of a^v a lank, tall man 

Self-made and strong; 

His face was sorrow-marked and wan. 
With others' wrong. 

The bondsman cry had wound his ear, 
And pierced his soul; 

And brought his power of speech to bear 
'Gainst man's control 

Of man. The chains that held them fast 
And bruised their limb. 

He made his ills, and took, at last. 
Them all to him. 

In human traffic, greed and pelf, 

He had no part ; 
He fought for human rights himself 

With all his heart. 

So, 'neath lifted Cross — flag unlurled, 
Men rose to place — 

Christ died a ransom for the world, 
"Abe" for a race. 

THE PANAMA (ANAL HYMN. 

Linked are the seas which hat ho the shores, 
That East and West wore kept apart ; 
Now. in a narrow channel, meet 
To aid religious lore, and mart. 

The Lion and the Lamb — these seas — 

Flow calmly on a common bed; 

No dashing billows surge or roll, 

Or oceans' storms till them with dread. 



24 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

The sons of Afric's torrid clime, 
With sinews like a hydric ram, — 
They hewed the mountains' rugged steep, 
And leveled it with Gatun Dam. 

The path prepared, the water flows, 
And great fleets on its bosom sail; 
They bear the fruitage commerce sends, 
While mankind proud, in triumph, hail. 

God, our Father, on our knees 

We bend in adoration true : 

Without Thine aid, in weakness, we — 

We nothing can, in goodness, do. 

Linked are the seas which bathe the shores, 
That East and West were kept apart, 
To visit now, through surf and foam, 
The Captains speed with log and chart. 

OUR DOG TRILBY— A DIRGE. 

How shall the heart in words express 

The sadness of the hour, 
The fullness of its tenderness 

That wells up in its power? 

Trilby is dead! dead, and for aye! 

Her smaller life is done; 
No more her little form will play; 

Nor daily courses run. 

She was our truest friend and best, 

And loved us strong and well ; 
Her passing to her final rest 

Is left for us to tell. 

We loved her for the love she gave, 

Unstinted pure and true; 
And strove her little life to save 

By deeds that love would do. 



FAIR ri.A) and OTHER POEMS 26 

.Mori 1 true than human love was hers. 

Unselfish deep and kind ; 
Hera was the love that one prefers 

To much we often find. 

She could not speak ; but want of speech 

Her looks in language spoke; 
She tried by manner ofl to roach 
The words that in her woke. 

She IS no more, and with her dust, 

Our mingled tears are shed; 
With love SO true — yet part we must — 

Our Trilby, loved, is dead! 

PRINCE LULU NAPOLEON'S PRAYER. 

On his way to Zululand, the young Prince is said to 
have written a prayer which was found among his papers 
after his death in that country. On reading an account 
of it I was moved to write the following: 

God of my fathers' and mine, 
To Thee my heart I give ; 

And while existence crowns my life 
Let faith within me live. 

Strong is prayer where faith is found, 

And strong is he who prays; 
Prayer is the yearning of my soul, 

teach it all Thy ways. 

My path is strewn with trials sore, 

And filled with cares my way ; 
But them myself to conquer most, 

1 ardently do pray. 

1 pray not that mine enemies 
Should be disarmed by Ther. 

But for aid, that 1 may conquer 
What of myself I be. 



26 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

Hear, God, my prayer; and still 

Incline Thine ears to hear; 
Preserve to my affection, Lord, 

Those who to me are dear. 

To them let life be long and sweet, 
And grant them happy days; 

Let joy bespeak their inmost soul, 
By outward signs of praise. 

If but a certain sum of Joy, 
Thy goodness to us sends, 

To the most worthy give my share, 
And may they be my friends. 

And if for man's rebellious sin, 
Thy vengeance rage with hate, 

Let pass Thy fury, Lord on them, 
But strike me with their fate! 

When ills bow down the heavy soul, 
Misfortune glads the heart; 

So cherished thoughts of those we love, 
Are held by us in part. 

But poisoned is the happy state, 
Where bitter thoughts are found — 

While I rejoice those whom I love, 
In suffering abound. 

No more, God, the social bonds, 
My happy moments chain; 

Take from my heart such happiness 
And with Thy power sustain. 

It is the past that fills my soul, 
The long and dreary past; 

And only by forgetting it, 
That I have joy at last. 



FAIR /'/ .1 I OTHER POEMS 87 

Bui if no rnem'ry 1 retain 

Of those long past and dead, 

So will in turn my memoir be 

Forgot as soon as road. 

Then, let there live within my heart, 

All things great and grand ; 
And may my actions merit, Lord, 

Due praise from land to land. 

THE MONODY OF A POSTAGE STAMP. 

Wherever placed 1 st ick 

Whatever my color form ; 

I travel far and travel near — 

I go through shine and storm. 

My use in life is short ; 

I serve my count ry well ; 

My value when I'm t'resh and bright, 

The nation's coffers tell. 

How devious the paths 

Life's stations here may If. 
For one and all, my duty is, 

To them as prompt as free. 

The ardent lover writes 
His songs replete with praise; 
He urges me, in duty bound, 
To take his love the lays. 

And some for weal or woe, 
Their letters too I take; 
And while my duty I discharge, 
It joy or sadness make. 

O'er mountains' peaks I climb, 
But no complaint I make ; 
My place in life when duty calls — 
I'm always there and take. 



28 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

What man is he that lives, 
Like me his task performs, 
And goes through rain and goes through 

shine, 
Nor frets nor minds the storm? 



PSALM I. 

The man whose walk does please his God, 

Ungodly counsel shun, 
Who hates the seat of scornful men, 

Is blessed beneath the sun. 

He pleasure finds in what he does; 

He reads with much delight; 
The laws of God fills all his soul 

From morn throughout the night. 

And as a tree which planted stands, 
Where liquid streams do flow, 

His boughs will flourish and his frui.t 
Will to perfection grow. 

His leaves will show that spring is come, 

And thus foreve live; 
He will, to what his hand shall touch, 

New life and vigor give. 

Not so with men whose deeds do vex 
The Lord who's good and kind; 

About the earth shall they be blown 
As chaff before the wind. 

They shall not see their Judge's face, 
Nor stand before His throne; 

Unlike the just no peace shall there 
Among themselves be known. 



FAIR PLA ) and OTHER POEMS 
For the Lord doth know the godly, 

Their ways in goodness tell; 
But godless men and their attempts 

Shall all bo lost in hell. 



CHRIST IS THE WAV. 



Wo sook the path of peace and holy life — 

The narrow road the Saviour trod. 

Whoso footprints mark the way; 

Wo long to flee the path of sin and strife, 
And walk in newness with our God, 
Nor from His path to stray. 

Give us to hold Thy hand, be Thou our guide, 
For Thou dost know the surer road. 
That leads to greater bliss ; 
We walk the rugged way with none beside, 
'Mid darkness, with our heavy load. 
And thus have gone amiss. 

Thou art the way; no safer path can lead 
The weary sinner to his God, 
Than by His loving grace; 
Drawn by the strength of love, we humbly plead, 
No chast'ning or correcting rod. 
Will make us lose our place. 

Thou art the Way. the Truth and Light-Divine, 
The weary, laden sinner's Friend, 
And Hope of heavenly bliss; 
Thou guid'st the weak — our fait 'ring steps 
and — mine, 
Thou giv'st, who journey to the end. 
A happier home than this. 



30 FAIR PLAY and OTHER POEMS 

THEY THINK OF ME. 

Did I not know that I may love 
My friends, who love me just as well, 
Their long delay should make me cold, 
When me they fail to write and tell. 

But truly is my heart content 

While in my debt they conscious lay; 

They twice as often think of me, 
And just as oft resolve to pay. 

And further too am I consoled, 

While in my debt they stand arrear; 
They think as often of me then 

As would they if the debt were clear. 

I pleasure find as I reflect, 

When thus afflicted by my friends 

On other days; and still believe 

In what their honest friendship sends. 

God has my thanks for friends who love 
And hold me in their memory kind ; 
For health of body, peace and cheer, 
And for a pure and balanced mind. 



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